PSFK Conference San Francisco Speaker Lynn Casey

At the upcoming PSFK Conference San Francisco, Lynn Casey, founder of Team Noesis, will be joining George Parker (AdScam), Mark Lewis (DDB), Adrian Ho (Zeus Jones) and Rohit Bhargava (Ogilvy 360 Digital Influence) on our “Using It” panel. The discussion will examine how companies can use social media to enhance consumer dialogue, evolve product offerings, and improve sales.

First, who are you and what do you do?

Lynn Casey: a passionate student of people, an anthropologist of human behavior, avidly curious trend scout.

I’ve spent years in the ad and marketing biz, where I developed a love of consumer research as a means of arriving at real breakthroughs in strategy. My passion is understanding the WHY of human behavior, and to add human dimension to the nuts and bolts of consumer targeting. Determined to create a fresh one on one dialogue with consumers, I founded NOESIS, a research based marketing firm whose primary foundation is the NOE-IT-ALL panel, an 8,000 member panel with participants ranging in age from 6 to 66. These panelists contribute their thoughts, dreams, ideas and opinions on a regular basis, allowing me to create 360 composites of consumer targets for my clients. This human dimensionalizaton has become a critical piece of the marketing puzzle for companies such as Hilton Hotels and General Mills, giving life and breadth to what has been heretofore a collection of stats. I am a huge fan of looking for unique and creative ways of engaging my panelists, and look to them to lead the way in terms of fashion, shopping, media and family interaction trends. When not working, I spend time running the streets of LA, and looking for offbeat vintage bargains on ebay.

You’ll be speaking on our “Using It” panel. Can you sum up your views on how companies and organizations leverage social media to enhance consumer dialogue, evolve product offerings, and improve sales?

Social media is a critical component in today’s media landscape, and one which is providing companies with a tremendous window into the consumer soul. The most natural place to first look at the effect of social media is those companies that target teens - the workhorses of the internet. Brands have learned to create space on there sites and homepages to allow kids to express themselves, share opinions, design clothes or shoes, and truly engage with the product. This engagement translates to brand loyalty, and as co creators of product, comes a passionate consumer. As with all media, understanding and tapping into your consumer’s play patterns is key- and using social media to interact with teens is a simple ‘yes’ play. The brands that do it well provide their consumers with the tools to create and interact, and then get out of the way. When the message becomes intrusive, invasive or too obvious, it will be rejected. What companies are now learning is the social media is a compelling media vehicle for the older demos as well. Young moms are turning to the internet in droves desperately seeking information and guidance as they begin a new life stage. Again, smart companies are tapping into this ‘digital picket fence’ and are providing both information and the means for interaction to today’s mom. The reward - knowledgeable consumers with an emotional attachment to the brand. Social media will continue to grow in importance as a critical marketing tool as consumers continue to assert their opinions and viewpoints into corporate offerings. Companies who wish to benefit need to understand this animal, and to carefully study and develop the tools to create meaningful engagement.

Five websites that provide you with inspiration:

Boing Boing
MOCA: The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angelos
Sneaker Freaker
Thrillist
Flavorpill
Hillbilly Housewife
(Okay - that’s 6 sites!)

Thanks, Lynn!

Come and hear more from Lynn at PSFK Conference San Francisco.